When Linda Hamilton landed the role of Sarah Connor in the Terminator franchise, she was in her mid-twenties. She'd go on to have an illustrious career, becoming one of the most famous actresses from the '80s. Now, she's returned to the screen in Stranger Things season 5, a series set during the era that defined her career. And she's working alongside a superstar cast including Millie Bobby Brown, an actress on a similar path of success.
Hamilton joined Stranger Things 5 in a key role this season as Dr. Kay, who's very much the successor of Dr. Brenner as an antagonistic scientist. She's the commander in charge of the immense and highly-secret military occupation and experiments that are going on in Hawkins. Dr. Kay sets her sights on Eleven from the premiere. After sharing numerous scenes with Millie Bobby Brown, Hamilton has rhapsodized about the experience.
"I had not met her before. And you know, truthfully, I was just hoping she wasn’t a little diva who had somehow become completely soured by all the early success," she told Variety. "And I was not disappointed. She was just so lovely. And really good."
She added: "I loved her, just immediately. Thank God she’s not an asshole, because that would just cripple me. She’s so unspoiled and as talented as I have witnessed. She’s got it, man, that girl has got it."
Additionally, Hamilton's relationship with the show's creators, Matt and Ross Duffer, was equally positive. "They are chill," she said. "They are such a well-oiled machine, just the two of them, but then they have this great network around them."
If there was one thing that intimidated her, it was the scale of the production that the Duffers oversee. "Pretty much every scene that they do is vast," she explained. "It’s vast to me, yeah, but to them, it’s what they do every day." For someone who's known for the all-out-action Terminator movies, that's high praise indeed.
With her work done, Hamilton can sit back and admire the final season. However, the illusion won't hit quite as hard as it would have if she wasn't involved. “There’s a part of me that would almost rather watch it than be in it,” she added.
Stranger Things 5, Volume 1 (the first four episodes) is now streaming on Netflix. The series will return for 3 more episodes on Christmas Day, before airing its finale on New Year's Eve. The journey is almost over, folks, but there's still time to get your fan theories in!